Why (not) Brazil

Synopsis

It’s the story of a film director going through a bad patch artistically and who believes that a sign of a filmmaker’s true decline is to give in and adapt a novel, and even worse, to try and adapt a ‘good’ novel for the screen. Her name is Laetitia Masson. Unfortunately, the only producer who is still interested in her work suggests something even worse: the adaptation of a totally impossible novel, for it’s written by a contemporary author (which doesn’t help things) and friend (which makes things really complicated). The novel is called “Pourquoi le Brésil?” The author’s name is Angot. The friend’s name is Christine. The director has no choice. She needs money, she’s fond of the book, she’s fond of her friend, and she fancies the producer (even though his favorite joke is: How do you become a millionaire? By being a millionaire and investing in the movies.) His name is Maurice Rey. Masson throws herself into adapting the novel: writing, setting up the production, finding a cast. Work begins, and trouble along with it. She thinks she’ll never make it, that this adaptation is impossible. But the more she thinks it’s impossible, the more the book infiltrates her life and, little by little, without knowing it, she becomes adapted by the novel. “Pourquoi (pas) le Brésil?” is the story of this reverse adaptation: a book that adapts a film. And at the moment when the director, riddled with doubt, gives up on making the film, the film is done.